My Coworker Is A Cat [HIATUS]

Chapter 8: I Keep Cats and People Well-fed

Yoongi
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I squinted to see who was knocking on the door, and a familiar face emerged in the doorway. He was a vague acquaintance of mine. I wracked my brain for a name but I couldn't remember.

Jasmine started a little and slid towards me on the bench instinctively. Ah, right. I narrowed my eyes at the visitor. Last time she'd seen him in an elevator, she'd been shocked too. But today she seemed more composed.

I wondered if she had a thing for this guy, but a quick glance at her face indicated that she was faking a slight smile. She seemed thoroughly uncomfortable. What's your relationship...?

The man was quite a pretty boy. Brown eyes, brown hair, brown skin: all luxurious looking. He smiled and opened the door further.

"Pardon me... I heard some conversation as I was passing by and saw you." He addressed Jasmine. "I had yelled at Mr. Biel earlier for what he'd said to you. Sorry you had to go through that."

Right. He was the other guy who had stood up for Jasmine once Mr. Chen had left. I saw Jasmine's eyes widen with surprise. She mumbled a little thank you.

"I'm Kenai. Kenai Fisher. What's your name?" He extended his hand to her.
I noticed her grip her spare fist before taking his hand to shake. "Jasmine."
"Nice to meet you, Jasmine. I hope we run into each other more often." He turned to look at me, "It's nice running into you, Mr. Min."

I afforded him a half-smile before continuing to pick from Jasmine's lunchbox. Once he left, Jasmine sighed and chuckled when she looked at me.

"You know him?" I asked.
"Nope... And just between us," she said as she sat back down. "I hope I don't in the future either."

I furrowed my eyebrows but burst into a small laugh. "You're a strange one."

Her eyes lit up with good humor again, "Yeah, you're one to talk."

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In the Evening

I shimmied my way through that small kitchen window again. I poked my head in, and saw Jasmine sitting on the kitchen floor, lost deep in thought.

I leapt down and strutted up to her legs. She started to attention when she saw me, but immediately got up to grab some seafood dish she'd prepared from the fridge.

"Here you go, Sugar. My coworker told me cats like this food." I smirked. Of course I told her about food I enjoyed so I wouldn't have to eat cat food for dinner while I was stuck like this.
She squatted in anticipation to see if I would eat the food, and I gladly obliged.

As I ate, I noticed a mess in her bedroom out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, I became aware of the dismal atmosphere of her apartment tonight. She clearly hadn't cooked or eaten anything herself, and had barely crawled out of her shoes when she got back home a few hours ago.

I paused and looked her in the eye. She had a sad look as she stared back, and I swallowed the last bit of food I'd been chewing. Sitting up, I pushed the food container closer to her.

She looked surprised, but I just motioned my paw to my mouth. Eat.

She looked taken aback, but slowly her facade cracked and tears streamed down her face. She sat back and covered her face as she began sobbing. I was a little surprised, but immediately ran to her side and tried to jump on her lap. I put my arms around her neck to the best of my ability and nuzzled my head to her cheek. Call it cat comforting instincts, if you will. But she seemed to appreciate the efforts, because she hugged me back and let her heart pour out.

Once she was done, she wiped her tears away and stood up with me in her arms. "I had a horrible day at work. Why does this always happen to me? You know what it feels like being this cursed?" Oh, you have no idea.
She got up and walked back to fold her clothes.

"I'm better than the other interns. I've done far more. I impressed a VP with my last research project enough that he gave me a freaking recommendation for this job. He tried to convince me. I didn't beg anyone for anything!" She threw her jeans across the room in frustration.

I had no idea she'd done so much. Nobody talked about her qualifications. I remembered being impressed by her file from the first day when I'd seen it to look at her picture. But I suppose I forgot exactly what was in it.

It was strange how oddly the rumors about her had spread. Everyone's opinion was that she was a cold beauty queen... despite the efforts she made to be friendly. I guess I felt bad for her.

"I understand why they think I'm cold and unfriendly," she piped up suddenly, and I wondered if she'd read my mind. "Even Min Yoongi has that reputation."
I meowed indignantly.
"But someone is spreading the rumors about other things. And actively so. Malicious rumors against me disappear quickly unless someone's making an effort to spread it."

She twirled and fell back on her bed. "I will get back at them for this." She turned to me with fire in her eyes. "You hear me, universe? I will beat this curse!"

I smiled. Now that's a good idea. Let's go break curses.